Device for representing time and rhythm



March 5, 1929.

E. L. BUXTON DEVICE FOR REPRESENTING TIME AND RHYTHM Filed Dec. 20, 1926 INVENTOR 777 e/ Zia/WW.

Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

UNITED STATES ETHEL LEE BUXTON, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

DEVICE FOR REPRESENTING TIME AND RHYTHM.

Application filed December 20, 1926.

My invention relates to means for representin niusic HIGZLSUIQ. My object is to proviue a device whereby both time and rhythm may he represented coincidentally to siwei'ai faculties and so promote, especially for children, apprehension of rhythm and abi "y to perceive, analyze, identify, reproduce and produce rhythmic groups.

In accon'iplishing my object I have produced eieinents and structure that may repeat and use both time intervals and viin. 'y intervals of a music measure for group or individual instruction, for selfinstrm:-.-i(ai and guidance, for entertainment and for play. I therefore offer my invention as an educational device, as an enter tainment device and a game; and for reprezentation of temporal, spatial, tonal and other intervals to be perceived by one or another of the senses singly or co-ordinately.

Whiie the fields of use for my invention are nun'ierous and diverse, I particularly des gn i the cultivation of rhytlun cont tor sciousness, and I shall describe its structure and function in terms of that use. I direct attention therefore to conditions which invite provision of a device such as I offer.

The term measure indicates a quantity tlGtGlHliHtl by a fixed standard, a measure in musical notation being that portion of the music lying between two bar lines and constitntimz; he division of time containing a specified number of boats by which the air and motion of music are regulated. The measure sign of musical notation consists of a fracth a, the denominator of which declares the value of accented or beat notes, and the mnnerator the number of such beat note in a measure. The. measure sign is suahy read in terms of time, as two-four time, six-eight time, and is supposed to lead to observance of indicated (1 ration of notes and rests, and of intervals between initiations of accents or beats. The accurate production of provided notes at prescribed inter ads and having indicated duration does not alone result in veritable music. A factor to be added with which we are at present concerned is rhythm, a quality that includes not. only the regular OCCurence of measured periods, but harmonious recurrence of stress; and, more important still, harmonious alternations of unaccented with accented periods.

Many mechancal devices provide signals sounding at regular time intervals whereby Serial No. 155,812.

the duration of notes as prescribed by the denominator of the measure sign may be observed and the number of basic notations in a measure as so valued may be counted.

I offer a device that will represent and enable a user to apprehend the rhythm latent in the notations, and so bring forth more of the values of the unaccented notes, of the unstressed periods, of the portions of accented notes comprised in their duration,

and of rests. My device also shows the relations between the opposing conditions that alto note to constitute rhythm, and makes those relations plain for guidance and apprehension. The benefits accrue both to performers or readers and to listeners.

I have aimed, further, to bring a plurality of faculties to the perception of rhythm. Devices signaling divisions of time convey their guidance to the ear and may convey their instruction to the eye also; but such instruction pertains only to regular recurrence of time intervals and comprising a. continuous series of exactly duplicated signals. lvl y device distinguishes the various elements of rhythm in a manner perceptible to the sight, hearing and touch. I provide other features designed to assist the user in identifying the elements of rhythm so perceived.

The chief element of present difficulty in teaching music and inculcating music apl'ireciation resides in the lack of an eil'icient means of cuitivating, awakening and establishing a sense of rhythm. My device constitutes such means, and comprises a structure that wil now be particularly described with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a baton or one element that may be used with the device.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates a shallow box constituting a field and consisting of a plane base 2, front rail 3, rear rail 4, and similar side rails 5 and 6 having apertures 5 and 6 adjacent the front rail. Attached to the under side of the base and adjacent the front rail is a pedestal 7, of which there may be two, comprisinga post 8 and a sleeve 9 thereon projectible beyond the post for variably tilting the field, the sleeve to be fixed by the set screw 10. A ball 11 is provided, designed to roll in one or another of a plurality of guideways; .LOl' example, the whole note guidew y 12 which is produced by edgedly erecting on the base two strips 12 and 12 parallel with the sides of the held, the strips being spaced predeterminedly from each other and from the ends of the field and constituting the sides or side walls of the guideways.

A part of the guideway 12 is constituted a devious course having entrance adjacent the "Front rail the field by bending" the side walls laterally hack and forth a the longitudinal extension of the 9 'dewa termi in the case of whole note guideway 12 four diversions, 13, 14, 15 and 1G readable from. the said entrance of the guideway. The diversions produce a significant interior enclo. ed. angle 17 of a sidewall that occurs ter in one side wall 1.2 and the other side "iv-all 12". l angles, one to correspond with each four diversions of the guideway 12.

I are illustrating my structure as adapted to use in demonstrating rythni in four-tour or common time. Each of the diversions represents the duration of a unit in a fourlour time measure and each of the tour angles representsa beat or accent in the marking of such a measure; except that the diversion representing duration 0'? the eluding count of a measure may be natcd; and that a diversion is provided dicat-ed as 18 for directing the hall 11 the guideway which may, however, be function of duration. The structure signed so that the hall 1.1 introduced into the guideway and traversing the same will impact the angles of alternate sides at regular intervals and so produce an accurate v measured count of four. The guideway 12 designed as a whole note guideway is provided with a note-emitting plate 19 so shaped and so positioned that it receives the There are four such enclosed the 1 pact of a ball that may be introduced to w the .e'uideway, the plate in this ins being attached within an angle 1'? adjacent the front rail of the field and so being the first angle of the series within the guidewav 12 that the ball will encounter. The hall impacting the plate, causes a note to be emitted therotrorn which is the signal ot beginning of the counts of the measure. This guideway 12 is whole note ineasru'e reflector, so the arrangement is adapted so that the ball einits only one note-beginning signal while traversin this guideway, its impact as it proceeds over the dive ions and against thean rles prod ucine; relatiwely subdued sounds which mark the beat o. measure, such sounds being}: clear-la di' entiated from the initial tone procuced by the plate 19. The QliTOCii, therefore, may be perceived by the ear a measured arrangement of regular counts of lour, the first or whicri is accented and stressed and the succeeding three unaccented and unstressed.

1. .Y w "J l, .'j guru-1 s ay and quaiteinote guideway 21.

Further examples of guideways are desiggzuidc .,-.y 9.0 are provided w th note 19 so that the first and third impacts c oai l aveling in the guideway prodistinctive sounds and the second and being on unaccentuatet. uce relatively subdued sounds. effect is perceptible a measured count for duration of two successive hall? in a measure containing four counts, rhythmic factor in the notation being do perceptible by the impact of the hall .,..1 the second and fourth angles. Quarter note guideway 2 is provided w th a note plate 19 on each of its four angles, each of the four counts 01 the me sure, therefore,

being distingu shed by the sound that indicates nng oi a note. Guidevway 5E2 with eight diversions, four cine in;erinediate of the diversion positions of uideway 21; has a corrcspending number of angles provided with rote plates 19 tor the striking of eight notes easure of the same total duration .sure represented in, the guideways isly desc bed.

A further guideway is provided with sixteen di vein 'ons and sixteen note plates for indi sixteenth notes in a measure of four-fol time in the structure shown.

.1 gui' Way 2 presents a difierent arrangement for a dillerent ei'tect,nainely,an tor eliciting apprehension of the rela' tion of t iplets to each other and o the action oil? a measure oi? conin'ion time. In this case four groups oi s each are provided, each .ons being; associated with and each angle being plat. 19. The impact of the ball, lilltVt {,{ltlVlLw tionally in the gruideway, against successively the lst anme each group esents tl c be four units in a. measure time. the additional two impacts "enting and signaling the Zhlflli'lfiflll two notes of each group of tripcups being," so spaced on groups reflects .ely the duration of the upper guideways are ced relatively quicln 1 joined by transverse links 26 and the upper o't sidewalls adjacent the side rails of the frame are attached to the frame as at 27 so that the only openings available to a ball are the entrances to the guideways.

A ball may be directed into a selected guideway or maybe impelled to the plane field in a free area 28 pmduced by the spacng oi the ouideways from the front side out the field, to roll at random into one or another of the guideways for educational or amusement purposes as will be described. The side. rails of the field are provided with apertures adjacent the Front rail thereof. h'lounted inwardly of the field on the rails or verti at enclosures oi the field, are semicircular spril'ig members 29 each having; a reverse scmi-cirtailar seat 30 adapted to reeive a hall and retain it, the seat having an or? ice 31 through which force may i e applied to the ball by means of a finger of a hand 32 or by means of a wand 233, access to the spring member being; l

a vailabie through the said apertures in the side rails.-

l have described the manner in which a hall represents the time and rhythm of musical notations and will now call attention to further elements of my device. An indicia board is provided designated and provided with orifices adjusted to the guideways and through which the ball atter trav orsii a guideivay is permitted to pass. 011 this board is inscribed a staff 36 haveigrht divisions or bars such as 37 and 38. each bar associated with a guideway and representing; a measure of music. Above such measure inscribed a word descriptive of the characteristic note etl'cct of the guide way with which the measure is associated. and on tl a staff in each measure is imprinted the musical notation which a particular guideway is adapted to represent.

7 Associated with each descriptive word are the digits 1 2, 3 and 4: indicating; the number of heats or counts in a measure of common time, the measure selected for illustra tion or the structure. Punctuation marks relate the digits oi? each group to the notes of the measure associated therewith for example, the hyphens 39 joining; pairs of digits to indicate that one note in one measure 37 has a duration of two beats, and braces 4h) attaching three of the notes in measure 38 to a digit to indicate that three notes are sounded within the duration oi one count.

Recesses such as 41 for the reception of a ball that has traversed a guideway are formed by the partitions 42.

lVhile my device may be operated in a large variety of ways, I will describe operation in only a few. For example, a person may deposit a ball in the entrance of one of the gnideways and listen to the audible effect of the distinctive impact of the ball against a plate 19 and the differentiated impact against unplatcd angles, thus receiving through the ear the associat d representations of accent and rhytlnn. The player visually observes the guideway and the ball traversing it, so that wnile tin opression of beat. and rhytlmi are con 7 d to the car, the also a rehcndin; the cli'cct. In the i. d the impulse is to touch the c r. are of a cl object that s conveying an impression and the child will therefore "follow with its fingers the outlines of the guideway, thereby perceiving the eti'ectand apprehending the relations through tl..e sense of touch as taught by ound. The operator is guided b the in; cia in identifying the characteristics of a notation as represented by the hall and guideway. The operator may wish to discover the cha...-t of a. measure made up of r ljor example, and so will deposit the ball in the guideway correspondiin to the measure on the wait that :Zscloses eighth notes.

An instructor using the. deuce to assist a pupil will conduct demonstrations and tests in numerous ways that need not i detailed. it my be s1lynx-Fsted however, that the A rose the qualities of time and i F or collecwtal advanthree faculties nnportant tiv ely has l 3 if oe (rPVlCi, employed =0 amusement may be adapted to test the sense of rhythm oi? av group o'l persons either by designedly dcpositing the ball. in selected guideways or by the hall for random fall into a guideo's Identification or. the characteris tic e Feet of a guideway traversed by the ball is assured by the retention oi the hall in. the associated recess ad'ai'ieut the n' easure inscribed on the start? that ca s tire dest tiou oi said characte" tic e'ilject.

An instructor may also use the wand as a baton and beat time in consonance with the conduct and e'llect oi the ball as it traverses a guideway. The instructor may also beat the time with the baton while indicating and explaining the position and structure of the guideway as representative of time and. rhythm adding the influence of the conventional method of visually disclosing the counts of a measure to the impression conveyed by the device and vice versa, and inculcating' a knowledge of the significance 01'. the conventional movements of a baton.

The use of the device as a game is primarily considered as a feature of its educational functions, and is particularly designed for the instruction of children in kindergarten and primary grades, as well as for individuals and groups who may have a taste for instructional qualities in competitive amusement. An example of a game that may be played with the device is one in which dilterent values may be associated propell ltit) with the different measures of music, each contestant accumulating a score, the highest of which would entitle the maker to the Victory.

Another example of a game played with this device is construction of a musical score by each player or by an individual playing alone. The diilerent measures successively represented by the ball in its successive passages through guideways constituting the time and rhythm elements of the score.

I am aware that man 1 other adaptations of use exist for the device as described which will be obvious to a person skilled in music and which need not. be detailed at this time. I wish, however, to refer to adaptations of structure which be made by a person interested in representing harmony oi": sounds. One of these is the continuation of the guideways to provide tor a plurality of measures to l e represeu :ed by each guideway. Another is such ai'ljustmeut o guideways in relation to each other that plurality of guideways nmy oe en'iployed one time for the ropresentati n, thro h the simultaneous t aversal thereof by a siu'iiiar plurality of balls, of a plurality of note values in a. single measure, to Z'GPTQSODIEJ for example, a measure containing a whole no e and notes of other values and rests. St1l another adaptation. of my disclosed structure consists in the provision of signal. pla es of different tonal values to represent d rent characteristics, an adaptation particularly useful in connection with the simultaneous actuation oi. two or more representing units.

I wish also to call attention to a further advantage of the association of the baton with the device wherein resides a further adaptation. The baton may be used as a pointer to on we the meandering course of a guideway, its movements in such process tending to suggest the conventional motions of a baton in the hands ot a director, use pointing to the provision of a devious course resembling one of my guideways to be displayed to a pupil or a class and for representation of time and rhvthm in association with manipulations of L116 baton.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for representing rhythm comprising linearly distributed means of: disclosing rhythmic intervals of a time series.

2. A device for representing rhythm comprising channel-like means i'or disclosing intei 'vals of a rhythmic series and means for marking the intervals by sound.

3.- A device for representing measure comprising arallel members iorming a course, on the course iarking parts of a measure and means for producing sounds synchronous with the parts of the measure.

4. A device for representing measur comprising a course, means on the course marking parts of a measure and tone-emit ting elements associated with said means for producing sounds synchronous with the parts oi the measure.

5. A device for representing rhythm comprising a box-like board, channels on the board in paralle a eas and havingdiverted sections, torn-emitting elements positioned uiihin the channels at related extremities of diversion, and a ball adapted to travel in a channel and actuate the tone-en'iittingg; elemeets.

6. A device for representing elen'ients music con'inrising a box-like board channel on the boardhaving diverted sections, toneemitl elements positioned within the channel at related extremities of diversion, means for actuating the tone-emitting ole mer's to produce a musical eli'ect, and an indicia mei1ibei.' associated with the channel having a stall" provided with notations corponding to the musical etlect produced by the tone-emit ing elements.

7. A de ice for representing rhythm comprising a surface provided with a delineation of a continuous path having diverted sections representing parts oi? a measure. and indicators positioned at points of oivergence of said sections.

8. A device for representing rhythm comprising a surface provided with a delineation ot a continuous path. having diverted sections representii'i parts of a measure, and a stall member pos died in identifying relation with the path provided with musical notations representating said parts of said measure.

In testimony whereot ture.

I a'l'lix my signa- ETHEL LEE BUX ON. 

